Ann and Sakuno: Thirty Hugs
by Maria - Madoka Ayukawa
Summary: My fanfics for the 30 Hugs LJ community, centered on Ann and Sakuno. Of course, shoujoai. Because yep, girlgirl love CAN be done in Prince of Tennis.
1. Foot prints

**_"Ann and Sakuno: Thirty Hugs"_**

Pairing: Ann Tachibana/Sakuno Ryuuzaki.  
Rating: PG-13 for shoujoai/femslash  
Disclaimer: Not Mine. Konomi's!  
General summary: A collection of AnnxSakuno fics, written for the 30 Hugs LJ comm.

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Part 1: _Sandy Happiness  
_  
30 Hugs theme used:9 (footprints)

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Ann Tachibana likes running on the sand of the beach. Yes, it sucks to wash off the sand itself from your feet later in the shower, and it's not easy to wash it off your shoes and socks - but Lord, it brings such a strong feeling of liberty to her soul, that she'd never change a good run on the seaside for anything.

It's even better when someone else joins her in this mental trip to Fantasy Land. Sometimes it would be Kamio-kun or Momoshiro-kun - if she's able to drag either one or both of them out of the tennis courts. Her older brother, much as he loved beaches too, would usually prefer to walk slowly instead of running and playing, to appreciate ther beauty of his surroundings and how his footprints were marked on the sandy grounds. He didn't have his sister's playful spirit, at least on the outside...

Now that she's almost an adult, Ann loves even more to run on the beach, whenever her university and tennis club schedules allow her to do so. Because there's someone else willing to run by her side, do it playfully despite her natural shyness, and laugh happily when the cold watery waves reach her toes and wash the small, delicate footprints she left some seconds ago away...

"Ann-san! Wait for me, you're going too fast...".

And when Sakuno gets tired and stops, Ann immediately goes to her side and holds her girlfriend in her arms tenderly, cradling the younger woman against her chest...

To Hell with whoever is watching them - because the seaside is their little own world... and they're two princesses who will, sooner or later, take it by storm.


	2. Euthanasia

**_"Ann and Sakuno: Thirty Hugs"_**

Pairing: Ann Tachibana/Sakuno Ryuuzaki.  
Rating: PG-13 for shoujoai/femslash  
Disclaimer: Not Mine. Konomi's!  
General summary: A collection of AnnxSakuno fics, written for the 30 Hugs LJ comm.

---

Part 2: _An answer she couldn't give_  
30 Hugs theme used:13 (euthanasia)

**_---_**

_How far would she go for her sake?_

Sakuno Ryuuzaki isn't the type to take any kind of risks. Ann Tachibana knows it too well. But at the same time, Ann likes to toy with the idea of asking her girlfriend of sorts - what would she do for her? Besides, she's not the only person who wonders the same; Fuji had told her that he once asked both his siblings and his boyfriend, Tezuka, the exact same thing. Only that he never told her what they replied to him.

It is, in a sense, an issue about the power she could have on others. The ex-members of the Fudomine tennis team used to be, and still are, fiercely devoted to her older brother, who once was their savior. Kamio, Shinji, Sakurai, Ishida, Uchimura... all of them - years ago, they even lied to their captain because they didn't want him to be worried, after they were involved in a street accident just before the match against Yamabuki...

Ann has always asked herself if she could have that same influence on others. And the closest persons she has as a sort-of Guinea pigs are her girlfriend Sakuno and her best friend, Kamio andMomoshiro. Well, she knows that Momoshiro will think it's a joke and Kamio will avoid the subject,but Sakuno's the type of person who always takes things seriously...

Ann and Sakuno now attend the same all-girls high school - so, when not in their respective classes or in the tennis club (Sakuno is a freshman, Ann is a junior and already a regular), they like to study together in the library. They always use the same table, one that's placed right next to a big window and an enormous shelf full of art books; since it's a sort of solitary little corner, only the girls of the art clubs are hanging around, allowing both of them to have some privacy for chatting, whispering, and some giggling when in the mood.

One particular day, Ann makes up her mind and decides to ask. The chance is almost perfect: Sakuno is particularly distraught over an upcoming Moral Education test and her eyes are pretty much glued to her text book. Then, Ann pretends to be planning an essay she has to give to her World History teacher, writing up the drabble of it in a small notebook to later type it and print it in the school labs.

At one point, after around an hour of silence between both girls, Ann gets up and says something about going to the toilet. Sakuno nods quietly and continues reading, but some seconds later...

"Sakuno-san!".

Sakuno turns and sees Yoshino, a girl from her class, standing next to her. "Hmmmm?".

"Tachibana-sempai left a note for you on the table. Didn't you see it?".

"Oh, I didn't... Thank you, Yoshino-san".

The light blue paper sheet is carefully folded in front of her, and it even has a purple sticker as a sort of seal. After Yoshino picks up her art books and leaves, Sakuno looks around fearing that someone may be spying on her, and only then she carefully opens it, trying not to rip the sticker away.

The message written in dark blue ink is clear.

_Sakuno:_

_From taking peeks at the part of the book that you're reading, I see that your Moral Education test is centered around the issues of death and how it's viewed in Japanese society. So, tell me..._

_If I were about to die, as well as unable to decide if I wanted to live or not, and my family gave you the choice..._

_Would you kill me, Sakuno, to give me the definitive freedom? Or would you choose to let me be an Eternally Sleeping Beauty?_

_Be honest, please. And no, I'm not joking. I'm dead serious._

Few minutes later, Ann returns to the library, rubbing her hands since they still feel somewhat cold. She walks nonchalantly towards "their" desk; Sakuno is there, still reading and apparently very concentrated...

Ann chooses not to talk to her, not wanting to disrupt her concentration. Then, the older girl notices a piece of white paper placed on her closed notebook, carefully folded and sealed with a Hello Kitty sticker.

Instead of sitting down to read the message, Ann grabs it and stands by the window, turning her back on Sakuno. She's not sue why she doesn't want to face the other girl...

And the reply, written in dark red ink, is this one:

_Ann:_

_... I'm no one to take anybody's life away. And even less if it's yours. Even if it's just a question, I can't really reply._

_I'm sorry, but please understand me..._

The rest of the message is blurred by Sakuno's tears.

Ann turns slowly. Sakuno's hands are shaking a little as they grab the textbook, and her breath is unusually quick...

Then, as a way to apologize for asking such a thing, Ann sits by Sakuno and tenderly holds her, letting the sobbing girl lean against her.


	3. Soumei yoshino cherry trees

_**"Ann and Sakuno: Thirty Hugs"**_  
Pairing: Ann Tachibana/Sakuno Ryuuzaki.  
Rating: PG-13 for shoujoai/femslash  
Disclaimer: Not Mine. Konomi's!  
General summary: A collection of AnnxSakuno fics, written for the 30 Hugs LJ comm.

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_Part 3: Floral Snow_

30 Hugs theme used: 14 (soumei yoshino)

---

Snow is cold, that's what you know. At times it's so gelid that it almost feel warm, as the icy feeling goes through your skin and starts crawling in your whole self.

But there's one kind of snow that feels warm and soft at the touch of your hands, and Ann has just learnt of its existance.

"Aaaaah, so pretty! Oishi-sempai was right, the flowers are white and almost look like snow!"

The old soumei yoshino trees located in that small, secret park have very special flowers. Traditionally, the majority of cherry trees have faintly pink blossoms, that somewhat look like cotton candy in the words of Eiji Kikumaru. But these have almost dropped all the possible tons of red that are a part of the pink tint, to favor the pure white that reminds Ann of the snow.

In a childish but incredibly charming way (oh well, she had just stepped out of childhood few years ago...), Sakuno runs to the tree and tiptoes when she gets as close as she can, trying to use her small hands to catch the petals that are falling to the floor. The breeze that carries them away from the blossoms and branches feels warm, unlike the days when the real snow covers the ground.

Ann looks at Sakuno in glee, enjoying how the usually shy girl is completely mesmerized by the beauty. She used to be like that as a little girl, always running around and being marveled by all those small, glittering little things that only children could see. Evne the toughest boy or the more tomboyish girl can't stay away from such stuff; that means they still can retain some degree of innocence, the kind of purity allowing them to remember those precious illusions that adults often want to get back... only to see that they can't grasp them anymore.

Gokutora, already missing the attention that the girls usually give him, barks lightly and runs towards the pigtailed young woman. She turns towards the Terrier and kneels by his side, hugging him against her chest cutely. The pet doesn't even squirm as he always does when Sakuno does this to him, and instead looks up to try licking her chin... and makes a face when a white cherry petal lands on its tongue.

"Gokutora, you tramp," Ann interrupts as she runs towards them, laughing. "You always do that when my girlfriend hugs you first!".

And under that floral snow, girlish laughter mixes with barking.


	4. Fairy tales

_**"Ann and Sakuno: Thirty Hugs"**_

Pairing: Ann Tachibana/Sakuno Ryuuzaki.  
Rating: PG-13 for shoujoai/femslash  
Disclaimer: Not Mine. Konomi's! And The Little mermaid is Andersen's.  
General summary: A collection of AnnxSakuno fics, written for the 30 Hugs LJ comm.

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Part 4: _The princess who believed in fairy tales_

30 Hugs theme used: 8 (fairy taless)

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Ann stopped believing in fairytales at quite an early age. When all the girls dream of being princesses in a candy-like realm and finding True Love, she prefers to run with her baby puppy Gokutora and play pranks on her brother. However, she somehow doesn't seem eager to burst the other girls' rose-pink bubbles of illusion, unlike other more cruel kids, and just leaves them there. She won't lose any time with daydreaming.

One spring day, during her elementary school's yearly trip to Tokyo, Ann sits down by a small fountain in a park. Her friends are having a picnic on the grass, but she needs to have some time on her own to eat calmly. Otherwise, all her pickled plum onigiri will disappear in span of seconds...

"No, oh no!".

Ann blinks. She doesn't know that voice, so whoever started wailing close to her isn't a classmate of hers... She looks around and sees a little girl somewhat younger than her, sitting not too far from Ann and hugging a book against her chest.

"No, no, no...", she sobs as if her dad or mom were dead.

Ann grabs her bento box and gets closer to the girl. "What happens," she asks.

The pigtailed girl looks at her and hiccups some more. "The Little Mermaid is dead! She loved the Prince but he didn't choose her! It's unfair...!."

The first thing Ann thinks is, "Oh dear. She didn't need to have anybody telling her that fairytales are crap." But the girl seems so honestly sad for the fate of the Little Mermaid, the one who sacrificed her life for the boy she loved quietly and ended up transformed in a wind spirit... that she can't bring herself to say anything snarky.

"Hey."

The girl keeps on sobbing, so Ann speaks again, this time a little louder. "Hey...!"

"Eh," and she looks up at her. Ann smiles and pulls her hankie out of her chest pocket, cleaning the other girl's face.

"... Thank you... uhm..."

"Ann".

"Uh?"

"That's my name. And yours?"

"Uhm..." The little girl hesitates. "... Sakuno."

"Okay, Sakuno-chan," and Ann takes the book from her hands. "Are... are you still sad for the fate of the Little Mermaid?"

Sakuno looks at her as if she's about to start crying again. Ann almost feels like she's been hit with a stone. Oh dear, let's choose words carefully...

"... Sakuno-chan," she starts again, speaking slowly, "do you think the Little Mermaid is sad upon her destiny?"

It's clear that the other girl had never thought of it that way. She looks at Ann and sniffles a little.

"... Why do you say so," she asks cautiously.

Ann opens the book and flips through the pages, until she reaches the end. There, she finds a beautiful illustration that features the Little Mermaid, now the Wind Spirit, floating around cheerfully like a beautiful fairy.

"The Little Mermaid made her choice," Ann says, her finger touching the paper. "She chose the sake of others over her own happiness, so God gave her a small little prize."

"But she didn't get the Prince...!"

"Maybe her happiness wasn't with the Prince", Ann continues, calmly.

"... Really?"

Ann barely resists the urge to laugh. Sakuno looks so, so cute with that dumbfounded look on her adorable face...

"She got her other wish... the possibility to have a soul. So, I don't think her fate was so unfair. Maybe what looks like disgrace to you, it's not so bad if you think of it, ne?".

Sakuno looks at Ann, then at the picture. She also touches the paper (her fingers briefly touch Ann's for a second), and sighs.

"I see... But I still wish she had gotten the Prince, too."

Ann almost rolls her eyes. But it's okay. At least the girl won't cry anymore.

"Ann!"

"Ann-chan!"

"Tachibana!"

"Whoopsie, they're searching for me...," Ann says as she looks in front of ehr and sees one of the girls of her class coming up to her. "Gotta go, Sakuno-chan...".

Ann isn't able to say anything else; her girl friends come in, briefly greet Sakuno and practically drag Ann back to the group, laughing.

"Hey, you...!"

Too late. A female voice calls out to her as well. "Sakuno! Are you okay!"

Sakuno looks at the long-haired, middle-aged woman coming towards her. "Grandmother..."

Soon, Sakuno and her grandmother Sumire are going home.

---

A now adult Sakuno is helping her boss to close the small bookstore she works in. The current day of work is over, now it's time to go home.

"Ryuuzaki, are you sure you want to take that old book you found in the warehouse?", the old man asks her. "It has some ripped pages and isn't well-conserved".

"It makes me nostalgic, Minamizuka-san. And I kinda feel sorry for it since no one will want it...".

"Since I won't be able to sell it... Ah, hi, Tachibana-san!"

Ann comes in Minamizuka's range of view, and an old but still alert Gokutora follows her. The dog goes to greet his other owner with a playful bark, and Ann greets the librarian. After this, she turns to her roomate - and is shocked as she sees the book that Sakuno had in her hands.

"That is...", the woman whispers.

Sakuno surely can't remember it clearly, but ann does. That book isn't exactly the same one that caused their meeting, more than ten years ago, but it's from the same edition...

"Something's wrong, Ann?".

"Oh, nothing", Ann says, and hugs Sakuno birefly. He then lets go and makes a small bow. "Queen Sumire, Lord Tachibana, Lord Kamio and Lady Tomoka have arrived to our castle, and the Queen has sent both her personal messenger and the royal pet to search for Princess Sakuno... Shall you come with me, then, Your Highness?".

Sakuno blushes and makes a small curtsy. "The Princess accepts your offer graciously, Lady Tachibana...".

Minamizuka just shakes his head and smiles as the girls and the dog leave. And just like many years ago, Sakuno is carrying her fairytales book under her arm... but this time, she's fully content with the magical stories written in its pages.


	5. Rainbows and butterflies

**_"Ann and Sakuno: Thirty Hugs"_ **

Pairing: Ann Tachibana/Sakuno Ryuuzaki.  
Rating: PG-13 for shoujoai/femslash  
Disclaimer: Not Mine. Konomi's!  
General summary: A collection of AnnxSakuno fics, written for the 30 Hugs LJ comm. 

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Part 5: _Dressed for success_

30 Hugs theme used:2 (rainbows and butterflies)

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"Damn, Sakuno! Can't you decide already," and Tomoka lightly stomped in frustration, looking at her best friend. They're standing in front of a small jewelry shop, looking at its shop window; the cinnamon eyes belonging to the college girl with long braids are fixed on the rings, the bracelets, the hair jewelry, the necklaces...

"Um, Tomo-chan, I'm buying jewelry for..."

"For an important night out, I know." The impulsive brunette sighed in frustration. "But it's tonight, Sakuno. Tonight. And we're still not done with the makeover."

Sakuno sighed as well, looking at the other girl who was attracting everyone's attention with her loud, rather child-like whining. Though she had quite a reason for it...

When Sakuno and Tomoka entered highschool, they promised to help each other to look beautiful for any official date, and kept their promise through those years and their upcoming time at the same women's college. During the last months, Sakuno fulfilled her part when Tomoka had a blind date with a boy from a nearby college (who later turned out to be their old friend Horio, and the date almost was a disaster from beginnig to start... which didn't explain why she agreed to have another one later and allow Horio to walk her home since then), but when it was Tomoka's turn...

"Aaaah, I can't believe it!" Tomoka melodramatically said, shaking her head, "Who'd say that, after getting your a gorgeous dress and pretty new shoes, only the jewelry hold us back from making you a true fairytale princess!"

"Calm down, Tomo-chan, please... It's embarrassing," the other girl asked, turning red when an old lady looked at them disapprovingly.

"Damn... you're right." Tomoka even sniffled a little, pouting. "It's not even my date and I'm more worked up than you. When you should be shit scared, after all."

That wasn't too far from the truth. From sport outings with Ryoma that ended up in the coffee shop not too far from Katou-san's tennis courts, to a recent high-class dinner in an expensive Akasaka restaurant courtesy from the nephew of a certain old friend of Sakuno's grandmother - she had been through lots of different type of dates, during her highschool years and early college months. For all her shyness and cuteness, Sakuno had her fair share of popularity among the males in her surroundings; that also brought envious rumors from other girls, who wrongfully believed she used to be into enjo kousai (1), but one threatening look from Tomoka was more than enough to shut those (thankfully few) harpies up.

Yet, this was the first time ever that a girl had asked Sakuno out. And it happened to be one they both used to know. A woman from Kyushuu, idolized by teenage girls all around Japan both for her tennis skills and her gorgeous looks... Tachibana Ann, "the princess of the Japanese tennis courts" according to the sports media. Telling truths, they had agreed to have it more like keeping Sakuno as her sort-of female friend for a rather formal party that also involved some male friends of Ann's (like the also famous tennis player Kamio Akira and his sort-of boyfriend, the ex-player Ibu Shinji), but Tomoka's intuition told her that maybe it would go beyond that...

If they had the chance to get Sakuno fully ready.

"Um, then, what do you think we should check," Sakuno mused, and Tomoka returned to reality. "I'm not really good when it comes to jewelry that isn't hair one."

"Good point. It's at least a semi-formal party, though you're younger than the standard and you may be cut some slack. Also, the dress you chose is already a very pretty one, specially for the color and the fabric... Man, that satin has beautiful shades of green and blue. And it fits you like hand in glove."

"And it's thanks to you...," the other woman said, blushing shyly, "because if not for you, Tomo-chan, I wouldn't have even dated to try it on. And I still think the cleavage is a little big for me."

"Come on! Now this is your time to shine! More than that formal dinner in Akasaka, since you'll look so gorgeous that you'll have those tennis people at your feet as a part of Tachibana-san's entourage. So, you have to look as..."

When Tomoka shook her head vehemently to emphasize her words, a rainbow-colored flash coming from the shop window caught her attention. The shopkeeper had added some new necklaces and pendants to the ones that were in display while they were talking, and Tomoka's eyes were fixed on one of them...

"I know, Sakuno! I've found you the perfect accesory," and Tomoka dragged the other girl into the shop.

---

Dark, high heel sandals? Checked. Long hair loose, kept in place with a stylish silk headband? Checked. Pretty green-blue satin dress? Perfect, please. And the last touch for her masterpiece was...

"Okay. Here it is!"

Tomoka adjusted the necklace's silk cord around Sakuno's neck, her long fingers delicately working their magic to tie the ends of the cord loosely without making it tangle in Sakuno's hair. Soon, the work was done, and Sakuno turned slowly to take a look into the mirror in front of her...

Much as everything else suited her, as a whole, much better than she ever expected, what captured Sakuno's attention the most was the butterfly-shaped pendant that Tomoka had put on her. Its rainbow-colored crystal wings looked more like fairy wings than anything, and for a second the college student almost expected it to come into life and start moving its glass wings, flapping them against her breasts.

But then Tomoka hugged her from behind, laughing cheerfully. "You're a beauty! You'll charm everyone there, Sakuno, Tachibana-san included! So much that she'll turn from princess to prince to sweep you off your feet!"

The sound of the house's bell rining interrupted them. And Sakuno's grandmother's voice followed quickly. "Sakuno! Tachibana and her friends are coming for you!"

Tomoka affectionately rubbed her nose against Sakuno's cheek, before letting her go outside and greet Ann. Sakuno had grown up into a gorgeous young woman; the Princess of the Tennis Court should better appreciate her (hopefully) prospect girlfriend, or Tomoka (and by gum, Horio, whether he wanted or not) would make sure she regretted it.

"Okay, Sakuno," she murmured as, few minutes later, she said goodbye to Ryuuzaki-sensei and went home, her spirits very high and light. "You're dressed for success now, don't disappoint me!"

---

Author's notes:

1): Enjo kousai (in Japanese, "compensated dating"): a practice in Japan where girls (generally highschool-aged, though college students also do it) are paid by older men to accompany them in dates, sometimes even offering sexual favors in exchange of money and gifts. It's seen as undercover teen prostitution, even when it doesn't always involve sexual activities.


End file.
